For the poor smuck on the shop floor it means, “Speed Up, Dog.” For a value to be
true it first must be obtainable, fair and measurable. Values too tight simply mean
an unreal cost while values too loose push the cost upwards. Remember Parkinson's
law; "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion".

Or Horstman's corollary to Parkinson's law: Work contracts or expands to fit in
the time we give it. “The amount of time one has to do a job is generally the amount
it takes to do it.”

In the mfg facility of my former employment, the Lincoln Method of incentive management
was used quite successfully. The quality of product produced was not reduced by the
incentive. A man could make as much as another third of his paycheck by producing
twice the established rate. A work piece with a value of four hours and could be
done in two hours by diligent work would produce dollar value incentives. It was
a win win for management as long as quality and integrity were factors. If a mistake
was made then it was up to the individual to repair it on what was known as straight
time. No incentive possibility here but it was a cost factor to the man repairing
the mistake. The operator, who’s bonus depended on the parts being on the floor,
was diligent in informing the foreman that he would be needing more parts soon. The
work place was kept clean and orderly. Any infraction was sternly rebuked by the
chief shift (first shift senior man) . There was a way to roll up the weld and air
leads. Tools were put back in the gang box. The crane was stored in a certain area
and the such like. Order, organization, cleanliness produce good work and productivity.

What happened to this utopian work environment?

Someone in accounting looking for something to put on his Performance Review, decided
to change from batch manufacturing to order based.

This meant that parts would come down the supply chain one piece at a time.

For poor welder Joe that meant that today you make one side rail, one bumper, and
one upright.

Poor Joe had to take his tools, clean up three areas, move from one to another and
still try to make bonus.

Joe had a built in work ethic that required him to have his bonus going by the first
hour into the shift. It was built in to his makeup.

Now Joe must grab his tools, move to an area that is trashed, clean and organize
it first, get his parts, fixtures , find a chain, grinder, welding machine, hook
it all up and try to make bonus.

Joe’s bonus is gone. Impossible for him to make. Cost him a cut in wages of one third.

Joe is not happy anymore. He doesn’t have a definable goal any longer.

That man in accounting gets his promotion.

Production has dropped but no one notices.

Machine shop setup times are eating up the machine shop so they get their batch production
back.

Time marches on and one day the foreman lets everyone know that there
isn’t anymore bonus. Sorry guys.

No method of defining what is required of each man replaces the bonus system. All
procedures are broken down into two hour increments and it is nice if you take four
of them for your work.

Before long, the department that set the pace is removed from the equation and the
foreman determines how long it takes to do the job.

Most structures are now outsourced and cost is driven by the vendors.

A structure that used to cost 24000.00 to manufacture has now grown to 48,000.00
because there is none to say what it is supposed to cost. All this cost is then
moved on to the customer.

A new type of foreman appears on the scene. He’s a knuckle dragger and management
has fallen back into an age before the real industrial revolution.

Wow, look what we have saved. The Standards Department of 10 men is gone along with
their supervisor. We save all that extra bonus money that we were paying for nothing.
We got rid of the Methods Engineers that made 55 grand a year. And we cut the cost
of structures in process. All this at an immeasurable cost that would stagger your
mind.